Curried Cauliflower “Popcorn”

This unique and delicious roasted cauliflower has done nothing less than revolutionize my childrens’ attitudes toward cauliflower. They’ve never been lovers of the homely vegetable but will choke it down when a chocolate chip cookie is calling their name for dessert.

So imagine their skepticism when I placed this roasty-toasty curried cauliflower before them. They were not buying it. Not one little bit.

Until they finally gave in and tried it (the almighty chocolate chip cookie has a lot of power in this house). And I am not making this up…they ate every last drop of cauliflower on that platter (of course my husband and I helped, too).

This stuff is magically addictive! My boys kept insisting it tasted just like popcorn. I’m not sure that is exactly true, but it does have a wonderful roasted flavor that is absolutely scrumptious.

I had no idea that cauliflower tossed with a bit of olive oil, salt and curry and then roasted in the oven could become something so utterly delicious.

It is nothing short of a miracle that my three year old requested this cauliflower for his birthday meal. Awesome.

P.S. I want to give a big shout out to one of my first blogging friends (we’ve been food blogging together for years, now!), Laura from Real Mom Kitchen. She is coming out with her first cookbook, and while I haven’t seen it, I know that she has worked hard on this project and I am proud of her! Here is a link to find more information. Way to go, Laura!

Mel… I have cooked and loved your recipes for several years now and have always enjoyed them, but last night when every one of my non-veggie eating family ate your cauliflower I thought I really needed to thank you! So… Big thank you for your time and sharing your talents! We love and appreciate your recipes!

Oh, wow, thank you! My hubby requested cauliflower & my toddler loves anything curry, so I knew this would be a hit with them. But I am not a cauliflower fan normally and, being 6 weeks preggo, am battling some wicked nausea. After losing a battle with Cheerios this morning, I figured there was no way curried cauliflower stood a chance. I am so glad I was wrong! I devoured this and feel pretty amazing! Yay! Thanks so much!

Made this last night. I cut up the cauliflower and put it in a bag and added the oil and the spices and then mixed it until everything was coated. I put it in the fridge until ready to bake and it made dinner prep really easy. We all enjoyed the smell of the curry cooking and enjoyed the vegetable. Thanks for sharing

I just found your website yesterday looking for a curried cauliflower to serve with some Tai chicken, this was perfect. My husband and I both loved and and will be making it again.. and again.. and again! Thank you for the recipe and a beautiful website.

I made this last night and it was wonderful! We love curry at my house, and cauliflower is my favorite vegetable. So simple and delicious. Will use again and again. Thanks Mel, for giving me a new use for cauliflower.

I am not a huge curry fan but this was yummy. My non-picky 5 year old gobbled it up but my picky 3 year old still wouldn’t touch it (he won’t touch strawberries though!). My husband and I both thought it was unique and good. Thanks!

I am a big healthnut and am always looking for veggie recipes that taste good. I just made this and my goodness, I really can’t stop eating it now. Thanks so much for posting this recipe. I would never have thought of making this on my own. Yum!

Mel, I can’t wait to try this! The only way I ever prepare cauliflower is to steam it and add cheese to it. It gets pretty boring after a while. Thank you so much for this new recipe – I’m sure the family will be VERY happy!

I love veggies, but cauliflower is not on that list. I love roasting other veggies so I bet thus will be the key. And adding curry? Yum, why did I not think of that! That is so nice of you to give a shout out to Laura, but I agree with everyone else, YOU should do a cookbook. I think your recipes are an awesome balance of easy, unique, unprocessed, something new, and tasty of course! Your recipes are spot on for people who could be on the edge of being a foodie if they didn’t already have a real life, LOL. I love your recipes!

Roasted cauliflower is one of my favorite foods, and my kids love it too. I can’t wait to try it with curry (why didn’t I think of that?!). I roast mine for about 30 minutes, because the more it caramelizes and browns the better it is. And add curry to that…I die!

Haha I am not a kid anymore, but roasted cauliflower is the only way I will eat it too! Usually I just use olive oil, a little salt and pepper and some freshly minced garlic and I am cauliflower heaven; but I love curry so this sounds scrumptious!

Ooh, I am so excited to give this a try! I don’t really care for cauliflower myself. Those stronger veggies (think broccoli, kale, cauliflower) and I don’t love each other. But I have a head in my fridge from my Biuntiful Basket last week and just haven’t been able to convince myself that I could eat it. Thanks so much!

Thank You!
Forget the kids, I don’t even care for cauliflower myself,. Yet I have an entire head of it in the cripser right now and I’ve been staring it down all week. I printed off the recipe immediately and am actually excited to try cauliflower this new way. Keeping my fingers crossed but completely trusting you 🙂

This looks delicious, Mel! My family loves roasted veggies of almost any kind, but I haven’t tried adding curry. I refuse to turn my oven on until this heat wave passes (heat index of 118 degrees today), but I can’t wait to try this when it cools off a little! 🙂